It was Williams' 50th career singles appellation and it preserved her No. 1 ranking. But "Bestest Ever" will acquire to wait, some say, until she adds at atomic one added French Accessible appellation to a Hall of Fame account of accomplishments.

While Williams has won all three adobe cloister tournaments she has played in 2013, including her latest straight-set celebration over No. 2-ranked Victoria Azarenka in the Italian Accessible final Sunday, the next analysis could be the toughest.

It has been 11 years aback Williams' endure and abandoned championship at Roland Garros, and she has gone no added than the quarterfinals aback 2003. Just as audacious was the way she exited endure year in conceivably the a lot of abominable agitated of her career with a first-round accident to dormant and 111th-ranked Virginie Razzano.

Enlarge Serena WilliamsPatrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty ImagesSerena Williams absent in the aboriginal annular of a Grand Slam for the aboriginal time in her career at the 2012 French Open.

But lest anyone has forgotten, Williams rebounded absolutely accurately by acceptable Wimbledon, the Olympic gold medal, the U.S. Accessible and the Masters. And admitting her Australian Accessible discharge in January (when, bedfast by abate and aback injuries, she absent in the quarterfinals to Sloane Stephens), Williams is advantageous and acutely at the top of her game.

"Every time I play, I absolutely appetite it more," Williams told reporters afterwards the Madrid title. "I feel like, 'Honestly, Serena, if are you traveling to get tired?' I don't know."

It is that affluence with which Williams is still arena and still triumphing over the world's best at 31, that makes it actual difficult to aces adjoin her in the French Open, which begins Sunday.